The invention relates to a telecommunication system and a method for using such a system to record, store, archive and report activities occurring on a user's (computer, television, electronic gaming device, telephone, cell phone, e-fax, or any other type of electronic or telecommunication display). The preferred use disclosed in the present invention may be to capture electronic mail (email), text, voice and or video chat using speech recognition, images, video or chat sessions for records or for a possible review and investigation. The aim is to have a tool that can readily capture and record an ongoing event both online and in person that a user of this event deems to be offensive, threatening or otherwise suspicious. In addition to these sessions it can also be used to capture, record, archive, forward, store, report or otherwise transfer materials deemed as offensive, alarming or inappropriate such as websites, facebook or myspace “social media type” pages, web blogs or “blogs” or any other type of event, picture, graphic or communication media that the user may regard as needing to be reported. However, the present invention may be used for other purposes, for example, as a record keeping tool for recording application sessions, reporting violations of company and other institutional policies or a person witnessing someone leaving luggage alone at an airport. Presently, a lot of interpersonal communication occurs over the course of chat and email sessions between individuals and groups. These chat sessions usually take place between two or more remote users that are connected to the World Wide Web or the internet, or the global computer network (GCN). Chats may also occur over a local area network, for example between employees of a single enterprise, or electronic communication may also take place over the global system for mobile communication (GSM), or a similar communication system that provides a communication network for wireless devices.
Chat and email, and other electronically enabled communication forums have many benefits. For instance, two remote locations or individuals may now be linked together instantaneously, considerable privacy and discreteness may be provided, especially if the messages are encrypted, and chat and email is almost always free of charge. Additionally, most recent software innovations have enhanced the ease of electronic communication channels. For example, advances such as stateful or threaded chat room presence enables remote users to monitor whether their chat buddies are connected to the internet, or whether they have stepped away or are too busy to participate.
However, electronic sessions also offer some significant caveats and drawbacks that the present invention addresses. One downside of electronic communication versus more traditional methods is that such communication often occurs between unfamiliar parties. Most often, the users are only able to see the other side's input characters, but not the individuals themselves, their demeanor, body language or age. Such communication is driven by trust, a trust that is often abused and used to exploit the naïve or unwary. However, even in cases where users know each other, there may be times where the substance of an electronic exchange involves topics that can potentially pose significant consequences to those involved in the conversations or to the object of the conversation. When this occurs, either party may want to record the exchange, or even to alert a responsible third party, such as law enforcement, a regulatory body, an overseeing party, or a party having legal interest. Thus, a primary purpose of this invention is for a user to be able to notify Safety Net Interactive, Inc. or any other designated or licensed entity that is contracted by SNI of predatory, improper, illegal or otherwise prohibited behavior experienced in a online or in person event.
Presently, virtually all software tools that enable remote communication also offer ways to store or record a particular communication within a record, a file or other means. However, multiple individual sessions must be recorded separately. This is also true for non-internet related software applications. Each separate instance of a software application must be separately memorialized and recorded. Additionally, saving is not always available, and a screen capture may be the best solution. Also of significance, is that the presently available screen capture tools create an image that cannot be searched or edited, whereas the present invention is able to parse the image in search of text strings and characters.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of these computer and other telecommunications systems that are state of the art are significantly reduced by the lack of a direct reporting link between a party doing the recording and a party interested in its contents. For example, a private citizen or a business associate may lack the knowledge or ability to contact proper echelons of law enforcement or other authoritative, corporate, organization or legally interested parties (schools, towns, states or country) to report threatening, abusive, bullying abrasive, sexually explicit or any offensive communications. On the other end, Law enforcement, schools, towns states, country or corporate compliance officers may lack tools or knowledge in determining whether something is benign or truly ominous.
Finally, the present methods often do not guarantee confidentiality. The possibility of exposure of a particular exchange and negative consequences of such an exposure on a victim, frequently discourage reporting. For example, youngsters may be reluctant to contact authorities for fear of alerting parents or school officials. Junior staffers may fear that disclosure may expose their online or social activity to their superiors and jeopardize their employment prospects. The present invention addresses this by providing an independent third party analyzer tool that can determine if the sessions are truly hostile or offensive, and which is able to alert law enforcement or another appropriate remedial body, without also alerting the victim's parents or superiors.
Various implements are known in the art, but fail to address all of the problems solved by the invention described herein. One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in more detail herein below.